Fruth Investment Management held its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,416 shares of the retailer’s stock at the end of the second quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 5.3% in the second quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 4,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 0.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 27,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,350,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.6% in the second quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 15,475 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Livingston Group Asset Management CO operating as Southport Capital Management raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 182.5% in the second quarter. Livingston Group Asset Management CO operating as Southport Capital Management now owns 7,477 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after buying an additional 4,830 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 3.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,874 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,298,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares during the period. 73.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) traded down 0.94% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.08. 2,747,925 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $142.11 and a 52 week high of $183.18. The firm has a market cap of $68.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.32 and a 200-day moving average of $167.38. Costco Wholesale Corporation also was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 6,031 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 231% compared to the average daily volume of 1,822 put options.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The retailer reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $28.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.57 billion. Costco Wholesale Corporation had a net margin of 2.06% and a return on equity of 20.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post $5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Costco Wholesale Corporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.66%.
Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Cowen and Company reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) downgraded Costco Wholesale Corporation from a “conviction-buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $197.00 to $176.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Costco Wholesale Corporation presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.11.
In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.32, for a total transaction of $906,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,219,477.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John D. Mckay sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $544,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,369,431.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,677,430. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.
About Costco Wholesale Corporation
Costco Wholesale Corporation is engaged in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Spain, and through its subsidiaries in Taiwan and Korea. As of August 28, 2016, the Company operated 715 warehouses across the world.
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